Bread Baking with Your Toddler

I love to bake and I have been patiently waiting till Isabella was old enough to help me bake. I am not convinced she has hit that age but I decided to go along with it anyway with the mentality that it is never too early to learn!

We started by reading this book about baking:

Mr Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington
This book follows a baker and the process of measuring, mixing, baking and decorating cookies. It is a very cute read and would be a great way to introduce a child to the process of baking

I decided to bake some bread instead of cookies because I thought it would be easier. I bake a lot of bread from Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day- if you have not heard of this before I encourage you to check it out. I absolutely love it (I am not being paid to say that) and it is so quick and easy and the best part is there is no need to knead the bread! For this we use the soft whole wheat sandwich bread.

For this activity you need

-Recipe you intend to follow

This activity

-Teaches patience; baking is a great way to teach children about patience and delayed gratification

-Teaches pre-math skills by measuring

-Builds fine motor skills by mixing, and pouring

My biggest tip is to make sure you have everything ready to go before you bring your toddler to help. Have all of your ingredients and measuring tools ready to go.

Let them help by doing tasks appropriate for their age. Younger toddlers can easily pour in salt or yeast. Isabella was able to pour in the flour with my guidance after I had filled it up.

Use the opportunity to talk about measurements and build their vocabulary by

talking to them about what you are doing.

Let them help mix the dry ingredients

Older toddlers could help pour in the water and wet ingredients

Let them look through the closed oven door with the light on to see their work in progress

And the best part is to let them taste it and be proud of their accomplishment!

I usually cut up Isabella’s bread because she has a tendency to bite off more than she can chew, so she was super excited when I gave her the whole piece.

We had a good time baking together and I look forward to baking much more with her. My advice would be to expect a mess because, quite frankly, toddlers are not the best at pouring IN the bowl. Try to relax and not stress too much about the mess. If it is frustrating for you then neither you nor your child will have a good time.

About Brittany

Brittany is a mom of two who enjoy staying how with her 2 girls. She is also the founder of Love, Play, Learn, sharing kids’ activities, crafts, and fun that encourage learning through play. She has a passion for learning and play and is dedicated to creating a family full of love.

Comments

Looks delicious! Thank you for sharing this wonderful post with the Weekly Kid’s Co-op. I’m Pauline and I blog over at http://lessonslearntjournal.com. I will feature this post as part of my roundup of this week’s linky party and also pin a picture from your post onto our very popular Weekly Kids’ Co-op Pinterest board :).

How fun! Looks like your little cook loved it; haha! We’d love to invite you to join us at Saturday Show & Tell on Cheerios and Lattes! I know everyone will love your great kid-friendly ideas! Have a great weekend! Mackenzie http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/saturday-show-tell-20/

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